Flexible tubes are used to store a variety of powder, liquid, gel, creamy and pasty products having a broad range of viscosities. Generally, the flexible tubes have a cover which is removed to expose a simple release aperture. As a result, low pressure is required to express the contents therein. Undesirable oozing and collection of product that can clog the release aperture is common. Many such prior art dispensers expose the bulk product contained within the dispenser after opening to air, and may expose the bulk product to impurities or other undesirable matter during and/or after application of the product, thereby affecting the integrity of the product remaining in the dispenser and spreading of these impurities with subsequent use of the product or otherwise degrading the product between usages. Moreover, when the traditional tube is opened, the contents are not only subject to the environment but a quantity of air is normally sucked into the tube. For example, many products such as liquid lipstick are particularly poorly suited for dispensing by prior art containers. The liquid lipstick or other product becomes contaminated, evaporates due to air passage losing moisture, and ultimately is unusable if not unsafe before complete utilization of the product. The tips become contaminated, dirty and sticky or crusty as well as allowing the lipstick or other product to continue to flow when not being used.
Similarly, many prescription and OTC pharmaceutical products, such as antibiotic ointments, are commonly packaged in a flexible tube that is sealed with a pierceable foil proximate the release aperture and a cover that includes a piercing member for piercing the pierceable foil sealing the antibiotic ointment or other product within the tube. The cover is removed from the tube and rotated to align the piercing member with the pierceable foil seal. The piercing member is then pushed into the foil seal to penetrate the same to allow the ointment to be dispensed from the tube. Commonly however, the ointment undesirably oozes out of the release aperture upon penetrating the foil seal and the piercing member becomes coated with ointment, thus wasting a portion of the ointment. Furthermore, the tube does not serve well as an applicator and excess ointment must be wiped from the release aperture before the cover is replaced, adding to waste of the ointment.
In view of the above, one solution has been to provide products in smaller, portable quantities, such as individual use foil or plastic packets. However, the increased packaging costs associated with these packets undesirably increases the overall price of the product paid by the consumer.
Moreover, certain types of products, such as those that require regulatory approval, may require approval of the product's container. Thus, it is desirable if the containers for currently existing products would remain substantially the same so that additional testing and approvals would not be required as would be the case for a new container.
In view of the above, several containers have been provided with closure devices such as one-way valves. One drawback associated with prior art dispensers including one-way valves is that the valves are frequently designed to work with mechanical pumps or like actuators that are capable of creating relatively high valve opening pressures. Exemplary dispensers of this type are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. RE 37,047, 6,032,101, 5,944,702, and 5,746,728 and U.S. Publication Nos. US2002/0074362 A1, US2002/0017294 A1. Squeeze tube-type dispensers, on the other hand, are not capable of creating the necessary valve opening pressures, and therefore such prior art valves do not work effectively with squeeze tubes.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention is to overcome one or more of the above-described drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art.